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COVID-19: Individuals Aged 13 And Above With Acute Respiratory Infection To Be Tested From Jul 1

25 Jun, 2020

From 1 July 2020, all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI) at first presentation to a doctor will be tested for COVID-19, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced on Thursday (25 June).

Mr Gan said the move is part of the measures the government has now put in place to curb the spread of the virus in Singapore. The health ministry expects COVID-19 cases here to rise as the country gradually reopens after the two-month-long “circuit breaker” period.

Diagnosed with acute respiratory infection: Testing to be extended to those aged 13 and above

“As clinical and scientific evidence shows that an infected person is most infectious right before and immediately after the start of symptoms, doing so allows us to detect infected individuals early and to quickly contain further spread,” said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

“We have expanded our active surveillance efforts to more population groups who are deemed vulnerable or who have a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19,” MOH said in a statement. This includes the completion of the recent testing of staff and residents of MOH and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) residential homes serving the elderly, as well as all staff of preschools.

COVID-19: Individuals Aged 13 And Above With Acute Respiratory Infection To Be Tested From Jul 1

Preschool staff queue for testing in the proactive screening conducted by the government to those having a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection. | Image source: Ministry of Education/Ong Ye Kung Facebook

“We have also started regular testing of workers returning to work in the construction, marine and process sectors, and frontline workers supporting our COVID-19 operations,” it added.

Meanwhile, the health ministry said doctors will continue to assess if a test is required for children aged 12 and below who are diagnosed with ARI, “given different clinical considerations for young children.”

COVID-19: Individuals Aged 13 And Above With Acute Respiratory Infection To Be Tested From Jul 1

The Ministry of Education’s (MOE) extended screening for all school staff and students above 12 years old diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI). | Image source: MOE/Ong Ye Kung/Facebook

DORSCON Orange to remain for now

While the Ministry believes Singapore is a now in a “better situation,” it says it would prefer to closely watch the situation before making any changes to the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level.

 In a press conference, Ministry of Health’s (MOH) director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, said the government has no plans to lower DORSCON level just yet, adding that the authorities do not want to risk de-escalating DORSCON prematurely and make the public complacent by lowering the level.

Dorscon alert levels

Image source: gov.sg/Ministry of Health

The government upped the country’s DORSCON level from yellow to orange on 7 February—just one step below red which signifies an out-of-control pandemic.

DORSCON takes into account:

  • The current disease situation overseas
  • How transmissible the disease is
  • How likely it is to arrive in Singapore
  • What impact it may have on Singapore’s community

Five Community Cases of COVID-19 Infection Reported on 25 June

Meanwhile, as of 25 June at 12 noon, Singapore reported 113 new COVID-19 infections, including five cases in the community. This brings Singapore’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 42,736.

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Nikki De Guzman

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Nikki De Guzman

<div class="oajrlxb2 tutozmqo qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jwdofwj8 rz4wbd8a r8blr3vg a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl oo9gr5id gpro0wi8 jk6sbkaj kdgqqoy6 ihh4hy1g qttc61fc" tabindex="0" role="button">Nikki is a journalist, editor, social media expert and a digital content strategist. Previously, she covered property and economy, current events, parenting, travel, entertainment and lifestyle, specialising in news and in-depth features.</div> <div class="oajrlxb2 tutozmqo qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jwdofwj8 rz4wbd8a r8blr3vg a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl oo9gr5id gpro0wi8 jk6sbkaj kdgqqoy6 ihh4hy1g qttc61fc" tabindex="0" role="button">She was previously the Project Director of food and home website nonilo.com, and the Head of Content of theAsianparent.</div>
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